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Iron War Uldum Expedition
By May of 35 L.C., The First Regiment had successfully crushed the Iron War Westfall Rebellion. But the blood of Stormwind’s subjects had been spilt on its soil, leaving many – commoner and noble alike – outraged at the response. Consequently, King Wrynn assigned the regiment to the most remote of backwaters: the protection of an Explorer's League archaeological team in Uldum. Little did they know that the desolate duty to which they were assigned would be of critical importance. When the archaeologists discovered a powerful Titan weapon hidden in an ancient facility, the Regiment raced Reliquary agents to obtain it and confronted a great evil that dwelled in the depths of the desert. This deployment came to be known as the Iron War Uldum Expedition. Devling Nahom In early March of 35 L.C., the Explorer's League secured the right to explore the titan ruin of Nahom from the local Neferset authorities for educational purposes. Rumors circulated that the reliquary sought an artifcat from the ruins of Nahom, and it wasn't long after that the Explorer's League came under attack by bands of blood elven mercenaries. The Explorer's League pleaded for aid, but the Neferset refused on the grounds of their neutrality in conflicts between the Alliance and Horde. The League turned to Stormwind for aid, and The First Regiment was sent to serve as their protection. The Regiment assembled in the Valley of Heroes, with angry crowds of citizens baying around them. The soldiers marched through the city to the docks, from whence they sailed to Kalimdor. After their transports landed on the coast of Tanaris on May 2nd, 35 L.C., the Regiment made a perilous march across the desert to rendezvous with the Explorer’s League. The regiment met with the Explorer's League and journeyed to the Explorer's League camp established just south of Nahom. Eager to find whatever artifact the blood elves sought in Nahom, the Explorer's League tasked the regiment with assisting them in excavating the ruin. After a few hours of fruitless digging, the forces of the Alliance were ambushed by Horde mercenaries. Though the battle was narrowly won by the regiment, the League suffered heavy casualties due to the fast-acting poison employed by the blood elves who attacked the excavation. camp1.png|The camp established by the Explorer's League and The First Regiment on the grounds south of Nahom. camp2.png|Tending to the wounded. What was Left Behind The days that followed the initial attack were closely guarded. The First Regiment sent out regular patrols around their camp in Nahom as the Explorer's League delved deeper into the ruin. Soldiers of the regiment trained at camp to pass the time. Baboons2.png|On patrol through the marshes. Reliquary_fight.png|Fighting the Silvermoon Reliquary. Camp3.png|The First Regiment gathered in camp outside of Mar'at. After breaking the seal into the main pyramid, the regiment and Explorer's League entered the ruin in pursuit of the artifact. The regiment and league braved a perilous gauntlet of traps while staying ahead of the Reliquary, who pursued them doggedly. After reaching the complex’s central chamber, the Explorer's League found only a strange stone tablet. The Reliquary caught up with the Regiment, making a final attempt to claim their prize. A furious battle ensued which narrowly won by the forces of Stormwind. Titan_pyramid.png|The titan pyramid. Titan_pyramid_inside.png|Exploring the ruins. Seizing the artifact was only the beginning of the Regiment’s troubles. The ancient Titan pyramid was in fact a prison for minions of the Old God C'thuun. By removing the tablet and breaching the seal to the ruin, the magical safety measures put in place to keep the Old God's spawn locked away were removed. All light faded from the pyramid, and the Regiment scrambled to escape the horrors that swarmed after them. While some escaped from the temple, most of the Explorer's League company and a number of regiment soldiers were dragged underground. The Abyss The members of the Regiment who were captured awoke to find themselves trapped deep underground in an ancient tomb. They were confronted by the horrifically warped form of the Explorer’s League leader, corrupted and controlled by the Forgotten One at the center of the pyramid. They endured a gauntlet of psychological traumas as they too were threatened with corruption. The rest of the Regiment made a desperate rescue attempt, descending into the depths of the Titan facility to retrieve their comrades before it was too late. Through sheer will and might was the regiment able to rescue its captured soldiers and return them to the surface, fighting off shadow beasts and psychological magic. With a vast evil unleashed, the Regiment tried to get word out to the rest of Azeroth. They found that magical communication and transportation were blocked by the pervasive influence of the Forgotten One, but there remained the Explorer’s League vessels along the coast. The Regiment fought its way to them, only to have them destroyed before their eyes. The Regiment came to terms with the fact that they had to confront the ancient menace alone. Oasis Seeking allies, the Regiment turned to the local Ramkahen. But the tiger-like people of Uldum disdained outsiders, especially those who came to plunder their land. Success and survival rested on the Regiment’s ability to negotiate with the Ramkahen and prove themselves worthy of respect. Led by Captain Theodoa Ke'tar, the regiment successfully secured extra supplies and knowledge of their foe. The brightest of the Regiment’s minds were taken before the sages of the Ramkahen. They revealed that the artifact in the Regiment’s possession, appearing to be a simple stone tablet, was in fact a Titan construct. When properly activated, it would offer up its lore, including, perhaps, a way to stop the Forgotten One. The Divinity Engine Sir Mathias Montclair spent several days examining the object and eventually unlocked its magical power. The primary servant of C'thuun imprisoned within the titan ruin was revealed to be a faceless one known as Yov'ogner, a terrible being of insurmountable power with legions of shadow beasts at his command. The Titan construct revealed that its masters put in place a failsafe for the eventuality of the forgotten ones' escape. There exists an artifact known as the Divinity Engine, which grants its user the power of the Titans themselves for a moment, allowing them to purify Uldum of Old God contamination. The Engine itself was kept within the Lost City of Tol’vir, and had to be brought to the Obelisks of the Sun and Moon to be activated. Finally, it must be taken to the Temple of Uldum, where it can be used. Dire Straits The following accounts an exchange between Dame Theodora Ke'tar and Sir Mathias Montclair after his discoveries. (Written by Theodora) There was a desert wind blowing tonight. It was one of those dry hot nightmares that came from the mountains and made your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like these, anything could happen. But sleep was not one of those things. Captain Theodora Ke'tar laid across her cot. Her arm, badly bruised and scarred, draped over her brow, just above her eyes. She stared dimly at the canvased ceiling of her tent and wondered. "Ma'am," came a voice. The woman didn't want to answer. Perhaps if she didn't, the man would go away. She wanted solitude, rest, and she felt a bitterness rising at having been robbed of yet another moment of it. "Speak," she ordered, her tone sharper than she expected. There was a pause, a hesitation, and for a second the knight-commander thought she'd scared the soldier off. But then the lad cleared his throat and meekly answered her. "Th-the Archmage wanted to speak with you, Captain." Theodora closed her eyes, only for a moment, and let out a sigh through her nose. The messenger, a recruit whose name she couldn't remember, stared nervously at the ground as she sat up, reaching for her boots. "I'll be there shortly," she told him. "Get some rest. It's late." The soldier - barely out of boyhood, Theodora noticed - offered her a trembling salute and quickly disappeared. For a moment, the knight-commander concentrated on her boots, going slow in hopes of eking out a few more precious seconds to herself. Then she stood and left the tent, grabbing her sword and belt on the way out. The night was pitch, dark and starless. Several soldiers on guard duty huddled in a group, their backs to the wind as they spoke softly to each other. When they spotted her, they offered a quiet chorus of acknowledgement as she walked by. She found the Archmage at the edge of camp, under a canopy he had claimed for himself. He sat on a low stool with a pipe, a steady stream of acrid smoke coming from it, and he nodded at the Captain's approach. "I found your definitive," he greeted, leaning forward to hand her something. She crouched and took the proffered item. It was a tablet made of stone that seemed very ordinary as far as she could tell. When she looked up at the Archmage, her brow raised in impatient expectation, he pointed at the thing in her hands. "That is no mere stone," he began in explanation. "And those ruins you retrieved it from was not a tomb or an archive. It was supposed to be the last defense, and those fools in the Explorers League broke the seal and let it out." Theodora stared at the tablet as her mind digested the information. "Let it out," she echoed. Her head snapped upwards as she realized the implications of his words. "That place, it wasn't filled with treasures or artifacts because it wasn't meant to house them. It was a prison." "And that tomb you were transported into once the seal was broken was its cell." Theodora closed her eye and felt a wave of dread and nausea wash over her. "Mathias, are you telling me that we unknowingly let out an Old God?" There was a pause and when she opened her eye, the Archmage was crouching in front of her, staring at her with an intensity of a scholar studying a manuscript. "It is what remains of Yov'ogner, a minion of the Old God C'thun. Once, the tol'vir of Uldum guarded its prison, but over time the pyramid sank into the sands and was forgotten." The Captain felt a familiar pressure pain grow in her chest, and then a hand pressing against her shoulder. "There is a fail-safe still," the Archmage said. "The Titans were no fools, and they anticipated an eventual breach." He took the stone from her hands and carefully turned it over to point at the strange etchings. "It is called the Divinity Engine. It is a construct designed by the titans to cleanse Uldum of this corruption, should it escape." The Archmage stood and walked the short distance to a table, where he unfurled a map and beckoned the Knight-Commander over. Pushing herself into a stand, Theodora walked to the table and peered at the place the Archmage indicated. "Corporal Blackrock reported corruption in the Lost City," the Archmage continued. "The tol'vir message to deal with the city is no mere request, Captain. The inhabitants of Neferset have been corrupted by the Forgotten One. I'll give you one guess about the location of the Divinity Engine." The Knight-Commander nodded. "A full-scale attack, then," she muttered, staring at the map. "It knows we'd be coming for the Engine, so there's no element of surprise." Theodora considered the situation silently before adding, "We're responsible for letting this thing out, for giving it the ability to escape. We have to deal with it before it spreads." "And there's no time to waste," the Archmage agreed. "You have to take the men to the city and find that artifact. The fate of Uldum rests in the regiment's hands, in your hands." Theodora continued to stare at the map as her hands curled tightly. "So, no pressure at all," she tried to joke, but the Archmage did not smile. "This is no time for making light of a situation, Lady Ke'tar," he said. "If you don't bring back the Divinity Engine, we are all doomed." Lost City, Lost Cause Shortly after the regiment discovered the nature of the Divinity Engine and the identity of their foe, the dark power of Yov'ogner was wrought upon the city of Tol'vir. The Neferset inhabitants of Tol’vir were corrupted by the Forgotten One’s influence and attacked the regiment troops. Tol'vir_City.png|The Neferset city of Tol'vir. Tol'vir_fight.png|Fighting the corrupted Neferset. Given no choice but to defend themselves and make for the Divinity Engine, the regiment launched a full-scale attack on the city and retrieved the Divninity Engine while advance units were sent to secure the Obelisks of the Sun and Moon. Darkest Night, Brightest Dawn With the Engine secure, the Regiment needed to activate it by using the Obelisks of the Sun and Moon. Traveling to the Moon Obelisk, they found that the advance-guard had been corrupted by the whispers of the Forgotten one. They grimly cut down their comrades to reach the Obelisk and charge the Divinity Engine. obelisk of sun.png|Obelisk of the Sun obelisk of moon.png|Obelisk of the Moon With the Engine half-charged, the Regiment rushed to the Obelisk of the Moon to complete the process. The advance force there had successfully held out against the corruption of the Old Gods. But, from their position atop the Obelisk, the Regiment saw a tide of darkness sweeping across the desert. Leaving the device with their best men, the regiment marched out to meet the army of shadow beasts that sought to ascend to the tower. After a harrowing battle, the Divininity Engine reached its full charge and emitted a blast of light - scattering the shadow beasts and boosting the morale of the regiment soldiers. The regiment returned to their camp outside of Mar'at with the Divinity Engine in tow, gathering their strength for the final confrontation with Yov'ogner. Elven Reckoning The following is a report written by Sergeant Meriliah Forger outlining the regiment's tactical victory over the Silvermoon Reliquary on May 29th, 35 L.C. Sergeant Alison Clement informed Sergeant Forger about some information gathered from a captive elf, finally alerting the Regiment to where the elves were camping. With a mission to eliminate the enemy, the Regiment set off, led by Sergeant Forger. The elves were camped on an island down the river, and with the intention of catching them by surprise, the group took to wading in the shallows under the cover of darkness. To get to the water, the Regiment first had to scale down a cliff face. Thankfully, only one soldier ended up with a broken ankle, which was tended by Mother Muriah Laldere. While trudging through the water the Regiment was attacked by a swarm of shrieking eels. It was a difficult fight as they dragged the men and women underwater, screaming as they attacked the Regiment. Eventually the Regiment was able to kill them all with minimal injury. Again, these were tended by Mother Muriah. The Regiment was able to make it about halfway to the island before Sergeant Forger realized the water was getting too deep for the plate and chainmailed soldiers. She decided they would take a separate route under Sir Ismond Laldere's lead to create a diversion. Meanwhile, Sergeant Forger led the other group through the water. As soon as Sir Ismond's group appeared on one side of the island, Sergeant Forger's group came out of the water. Between the two the Regiment utterly crushed the elves. After the battle, the Regiment searched the camp and discovered a chest. Sergeant Forger decided to open it, against the better judgement of some, and unleashed an arcane construct. The Regiment fought well against the being, forming a shield wall to defend the casters while they tried to bring it down. Eventually Mother Muriah was able to destroy the being. Mar'at Mission On May 30th, 35 L.C., Sister Chrisana Rilke journeyed to the Tol'vir town of Mar'at in order to preach the virtures of the Holy Light to the local inhabitants. Not long after preaching the three virtures and their benefits in the streets, Chrisana and her accompaniment were questioned by the Captain of the Mar'at guard, who scoffed at the notion of the Light. During their discussion, a farmer from a nearby plantation entered Mar'at and cried out that he and his family were attacked by Wastewander Bandits. Chrisana offered to fight the bandits and rescue the Tol'vir farmer's family in the name of Stormwind and the Light. A task force of regiment soldiers marched on the farm after Duke Maxen Montclair approved the venture. After a brief battle and minor injuries, two bandits lay dead, and two bandits (one of them their leader) were captured and turned over to the Tol'vir guards. The Wastewander Bandits pleaded for their lives, claiming that they only sought food and water in the desert. The Mar'at Captain decided to spare the bandits and allow them to work for fair wage. Sister Chrisana argued that the Captain's actions were a display of the Three Virtues; Compassion for keeping them alive, respect for submitting to the jurisdiction of the guard, and it was noted by the town elder that the captain showed tenacity in his beliefs by questioning the Light. Tokens and stories were exchanged and the Tol'vir granted the regiment a fresh supply of fish and bread in exchange for several prayer beads. Bandit1.png|The regiment arguing the merits of the Holy Light with the Tol'vir Captain. Bandit2.png|Pursuing the Wastewander Bandits! Fall of Yov'ogner After the regiment had consolidated their strength, they set out to defeat Yov'ogner and his minions once and for all. After sending an advance force to put the Divinity Engine in place beneath the Obelisk of the Stars, the regiment marched on the structure with the key to activate it and seal Yov'ogner within. Contact with the advance party was lost as the rest of the regiment made its way towards the obelisk. Fearing the worst, Lord-Marshal Maxen Montclair and Captain Theodora Ke'tar led the troops down into the temple structure to the site of the Divinity Engine. There they found the corpses of the advance party - with wounds inflicted by Stormwind weaponry. Without warning, the dead rose and attacked the living regiment troops. The regiment fiercely put down the corpses of their fallen comrades and moved to activate the engine, but not before Yov'ogner shrouded the temple with illusionary magic. Dame Theodora managed to activate the engine before Yov'ogner dragged the regiment into a lower chamber with his many tentacles. The spawn of the Old God fought the pull of the Divinity Engine, lashing out at the regiment and screeching in eldritch tongues. The regiment fought back and wounded Yov'ogner, allowing for him to be finally drawn into the divinity engine and imprisoned. Divinityen1.png|The First Regiment preparing to march on the Divinity Engine. Divinityen2.png|Arrival at the Obelisk of the Stars. Divinityen3.png|Descent to the temple chamber. Divinityen4.png|The Divinity Engine. Divinityen5.png|Fighting the power of Yov'ogner. Divinityen6.png|Yov'ogner's imprisonment within the engine. With Yov'ogner defeated, the regiment returned triumphantly to Stormwind - having won the hearts of the Tol'vir and saving Uldum from its destruction. Category:The First Regiment Category:Events Category:Campaigns